Who will be the fiercest of them all?
Wlola, atching a modeling show, you’d think you’ve already seen them all, right? Wrong. GMA’s newest modeling show is different in that it will be more than just about female beauties battling it out in the looks department, Actually each one will have to prove to be, as the title puts it, “The Fiercest Of Them All.”
In a recent interview, show writer Ino Habana described the show as a fusion of reality and fantasy, calling it a “Fantareality show.”
“Reality genre na female modeling but it’s a fusion ng mga fantasy shows na lumalabas like ‘Game Of Thrones,’ ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and ‘Hunger Games,’” he explained.
For the record, “The Fiercest Of Them All” is not a modeling contest. In fact, not all the contestants are into modeling.
“Yes it’s a reality show for models but the modeling is just a small part of a large narrative,” he said. “Not all the girls are model, merong casino dealer, etc. pero lahat sila may fierceness.”
Staying true to the definition of a reality show, the show doesn’t follow a script.
“Reality meaning reality, ’di kami nangingi-alam sa bawat magiging outcome ng challenges and sa opinion ng judges,” Ino maintained.
The models will experience many “extreme situation” that will unleash their real personas while on the show and so “makikita mo ang mga tunay na character ng mga babae (na contestants).”
Aside from this, “The Fiercest Of Them All” breaks new ground with a show that looks and feels like a motion picture.
“Du’n talaga puma- really an important part of the experience. I’m not only creating experience plating-wise, but I’m also thinking about contrast, what goes into your mouth. For example, if I’m creating my food, it has colors, but if I bite into it, there are different textures, flavors. So there are lots of contrast there.” Matthew wants to provide “creative but familiar” dishes that create special memories. He thinks of harmony, balance, and contrast – influenced by his design background, when he cooks. “It has to be exciting, happy, and different. One philosophy I have is to never be afraid to try new things, never be afraid to put flavours that people have never heard of before. I’m definitely fearless in what I’m cooking and I’m using what I have learned in design. “When you’re cooking, you’re really creating a moment for everybody. So, every single food that comes into their mouth, I’m thinking about how it’s gonna taste, what the texture is, how they’re going to appreciate the food at that moment. So that’s what I’m always thinking, how am I going to design an experience for them, not only it’s going to taste delicious but also be memorable and different,” he said. Joining the competition posed many challenges, as well. The contestants have to go through Mystery Box, Pressure Test, and Team Challenges, weekly for their survival. The winner takes home $100,000 and the title of Canada’s next MasterChef. “Chef Michael Bonacini is definitely pasok ’yung whole twists ng show, fantasy idea nito,” Ino said. With a tagline “Kalokang Fun, Kalokang Drama, Kalokang Fierceness,” we asked Ino how it was to handle such a seemingly ambitious show. Ino simply said, “Mahirap.” “Actually, It’s endless writing eh. Kasi kailangan mo tahiin lahat ng loose ends ng shows. The concept, the way it’s done, walang ibang show in the whole world that does it, which makes it a very great show.” sa
Ino described “The Fiercest Of Them All” as a sort of a training camp, wherein they “train good professional people.”
“We have a very international definition of what is beautiful kasi eh,” he said. “Hindi lang siya sa pagandahan kun’di paano mo maipapakita ’yung pagiging professional mo sa trabaho mo.”
If anything, Ino hopes their effort would augur well for the modelling and entertainment industry.
“We have something here that can potentially change the modeling and entertainment industry,” he said. “Sana ma-gets ng audience ’yung na-gets namin nu’ng ginagawa namin ’yung show.”
Show host Daiana Menezes thinks so, too.
“Nakaka-excite po kasi talaga ang gusto din namin makita na natutuwa din ang mga manunuod so sana suportahan nila kasi kakaiba talaga siya,” the Brazilian model-actresshost said.
According to Daiana, she constantly motivates the contestants as “’wag mo lang ipapakita na umiiyak ka sa’min.”
“Some of them, nag- one of Canada’s top chefs. He has owned a lot of restaurants. As an aspiring business person, I really look up to the food empire he was able to built,” he said.
Matthew took a lot of lessons from his experience in “MasterChef Canada.” Being away from his family was the most challenging part for him.
“When I came in, I knew that I had a lot to offer. But as I progressed, I was able to push myself in every challenge. In every single time that I pushed myself, I got much better. I never saw a limit for myself. I just kept doing what I thought would be impossible to do. I definitely took risks,” he said.
After “MasterChef Canada,” Matthew wants to build his own food empire. Cookbooks and restaurant are on the pipeline.
“I’m a very ambitious and very driven person so when I’m given opportunities such as ‘MasterChef Canada,’ I definitely went for it, in the sense that I quit my business and I’m in the food industry full time now,” he said.
For the aspiring chefs, Matthew advised, “If you’re a creative person, you really have to love it, to love food. Working as a chef in the chef environment is hard work. You work at night, holidays, on the weekend. You gotta commit and go for it.”
“MasterChef Canada” Season 3 premieres tomorrow at 8 p.m. on Lifetime. psychological help or something, it’s really a test of character. The beauty? It’s always don’t matter to us as long as you have a good character, sige umiyak sila, ’wag lang sa harapan namin,” she noted.
Professionalism is one of her criteria for the contestants.
“How you work, if you come on time, if you do everything without complains, so basically you have to be professional,” she explained.
Vying for the bragging rights of being the “The Fiercest Of Them All” are Betsy, Krisha, Christine, Aya, Peru Morena, Tanya, and Candice.
Composing the squad of judges are Matthias Rhoads, fitness trainer and model who recently made girls swoon as the groom in a fast food chain Valentine “TVC,” stylist and fashion writer Bea Jocom, and fashion designer Manu Respal aka Doggficher whose avantgarde creations have graced the pages of Vogue Italia.
“The Fiercest Of Them All” airs every Sunday beginning tonight at 9 on GMA News TV. (With report from Bhenj Agustin)